An approximate answer to the right problem is worth a good deal more than an exact answer to an approximate problem.
About John Tukey
John Wilder Tukeywas an American mathematician and statistician, best known for the development of the fast Fourier Transformalgorithm and box plot. The Tukey range test, the Tukey lambda distribution, the Tukey test of additivity, and the Teichmuller-Tukey lemma all bear his name.
More quotes from John Tukey
Far better an approximate answer to the right question, which is often vague, than the exact answer to the wrong question, which can always be made precise.
American mathematician (1915-2000)
An approximate answer to the right problem is worth a good deal more than an exact answer to an approximate problem.
American mathematician (1915-2000)
Numerical quantities focus on expected values, graphical summaries on unexpected values.
American mathematician (1915-2000)